Trade Secret

Trade secrets are confidential information giving a business a competitive advantage — customer lists, pricing and cost data, formulas, production methods, software source code, business plans and supplier terms. Unlike patents or copyright, they do not depend on registration and are protected as long as they remain secret.

Legal Protection

Turkey has no specific trade secrets statute. Protection comes from several sources:

• Unfair competition (TCC Article 55(1)(d)): Exploiting or disclosing information obtained secretly and without authorisation, or otherwise unlawfully, is contrary to good faith. Inducing employees to disclose or obtain business secrets is also unfair competition (TCC Article 55(1)(b)(3)). See Unfair Competition.
• Employment law: Employees may not use or disclose production and business secrets learned during employment; to the extent necessary to protect the employer’s legitimate interests, this duty continues after employment ends (Turkish Code of Obligations Article 396). For post-employment non-competes see Employee Non-Compete.
• Criminal law: Disclosing information qualifying as a trade secret to unauthorised persons is an offence under Turkish Criminal Code Article 239; see Disclosure of Trade Secrets.
• Contract: Non-disclosure agreements and confidentiality clauses in employment contracts clarify the scope of protection and the consequences of breach.

Internal Measures

Success of a trade secret claim in court depends largely on the measures the company has taken:

• Classifying and marking confidential information
• Limiting access on a need-to-know basis and keeping access logs
• Confidentiality agreements with employees, consultants and business partners
• Return of devices and documents and closure of accounts when employees leave
• Information security policies and employee training

Remedies

Civil proceedings to prevent and stop the infringement and claim damages; preservation of evidence and interim injunctions in urgent cases; and, where applicable, criminal proceedings upon complaint. For algorithms and software see Computer Program.